Ash Wednesday
What is Ash Wednesday?
Amanda Murphy Religion News Service
For Christians, Lent is a 40-day season of fasting, reflection and
penance culminating in Holy Week and the Easter Sunday commemoration of Jesus’ Resurrection.
The Rev. Arne Panula, director of the Catholic Information Center in Washington,
D.C., said his experience is that more people go to church on Ash Wednesday
than any other holiday, including Christmas and Easter.
Here are a few basics on the Ash Wednesday tradition:
When
was the first Ash Wednesday celebrated?
Early Christians celebrated the first Ash Wednesday sometime around the
Early Middle Ages, Panula said.
Monsignor Kevin Irwin, a liturgy specialist at Catholic University, said
the practice started in the 10th century and became an official liturgy in the 13th
century.
Is
Ash Wednesday a Roman Catholic observance?
Catholics are not the only group observing Ash Wednesday.
Anglicans/Episcopalians, Lutherans, United Methodists and other
liturgical Protestants partake in receiving ashes.
Historically, the practice has not been common among evangelicals.
Panula said Muslims, Jews and even people who are not religious can
honor the tradition as a reminder of man’s shortcomings.
“People recognize that it is
a symbol of our mortality,” he said. “It gives us a profound sense that we are
mortal, and Ash Wednesday is a reminder of that.”
In a typical Ash Wednesday service, a minister
recites Genesis 3:19 — “For dust you are and to dust you shall return”
— while applying the ashes in the shape of a cross on the recipient’s
forehead.
Does
the service have to be performed in a church?
No. While Catholics almost always receive the ashes
inside a church, people in other religious traditions now celebrate the ritual
without necessarily having to step foot inside a church.
Some churches offer “ashes to go,”
which gives busy participants the option of receiving ashes on a street corner,
at a train station or in some other public venue.
A state-by-state list of churches in the U.S. that administer on-the-go
ashes can be found at Ashestogo.org.
A pastor, deacon or lay person can administer the ashes.
For Catholics, Ash Wednesday rites usually (but not always) consists of
Mass.
Where
do the ashes come from?
Typically, the ashes that are placed on the
forehead of the individual come from branches used in the previous year’s Palm
Sunday services, which
falls one week before Easter and commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
The palms themselves do not necessarily come from the Holy Land, but
instead from various religious suppliers around the country.
What
do the ashes on the forehead represent?
The ashes are a profound symbolism for observers.
Ash Wednesday is not an official “holy
day of obligation” for Catholics, but it is a deeply ingrained tradition,
even for people who may not be particularly observant.
The ashes — a traditional sign of mourning and repentance — are meant to
remind people that life is short.
“It is a time for Christians
to carry the cross,” Panula said. “The observance is a symbol of our Lord
emblazoned on the forehead of Christians.”
Bible Verses for Ash
Wednesday
"Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a
mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable
things that are done in it." (Ezekiel
9:4)
"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your good
until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and
to dust you will return." (Genesis
3:19)
"Even now," declares the Lord, "return
to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." (Joel 2:12-18)
Would
you want to have a deeper relationship with God?
God has made it possible
for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life
by
receiving His Son, Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.
Say the following prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me
from You.
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lyrics
It
matters so little how much you may own
The
places you’ve been or the people you’ve known
For
it all comes to nothing when place at His feet
It’s
nothing for Jesus, just memories to keep
You
may take all the treasures from far away land
And
take all the riches you can hold in your hand
And
take all the pleasures your money can buy
But
what will you have when it’s your time to die?
*
Only one life so soon it will pass
Only
what’s done for Christ will last
Only
one chance to do His will
So
give to Jesus all your days, it’s the only life that pays
When
you recall you have but one life
The
days pass so swiftly, the months come and go
The
years melt away like a new fallen snow
Spring
turns to summer, and summer to fall
Autumn
brings winter, and death comes to call
This article is part of our larger Holy Week and Easter resource library
centered around the events leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. We hope these articles help you understand the meaning and story behind
important Christian holidays and dates and encourage you as you take time to
reflect on all that God has done for us through his son Jesus Christ!
http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/what-is-ash-wednesday.html
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